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On Ash Wednesday

As a father shows compassion to his children,so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

Psalm 103:13-14

Expectations are everything.

“Oh yeah. He’s three” is a expectation adjustment that we need often in the Busby home. I have a three year old son and he acts like it. The adjustment is a note of compassion: Have patience. Relax. Give grace. Lower the bar.

Because he’s three.

Psalm 103 proclaims something similar. The Lord is said to be compassionate like a father is with his children.

Why?

Because he knows our frame. He remembers we are dust.

The Lord’s expectations of us are not too high. He knows the material from which he made us. Remember, Genesis 2 tells us that he fashioned us from the dust of the ground.

Quite simply, we are not very impressive stuff.

“Oh yeah. They are dust” is a thought that runs the the Creator God’s mind.

He’s not impressed by us. He just loves us. There is a deep sigh of relief to be found here. It is no small thing.

Ash Wednesday is a day where we intentionally remember our frailty, our frame, our dustiness, our deaths. But may we know that the Lord grants compassion and loves such as us.